"He has a piston with a smiley face on it that's not very happy"

Old engines, rusty airplanes, and a strange valve incident are the puzzlers for Mike, Paul, and Colleen this episode. Send your questions to [email protected] for a chance to get on the show. Join the world's largest aviation community at aopa.org/join Full episode notes below: John has a Beech Musketeer who had an unusual situation with his valve. The valve seat separated from the cylinder barrel and dropped down, striking the piston crown. He's wondering if he did anything to cause this, despite never exceeding 425 degrees CHT. The hosts agree that it was probably a manufacturing error, even though the cylinder had a few hundred hours on it. Mike said the only way this can happen is with a manufacturing problem or a high heat event. Larry has an early SR22 with 3,300 hours on the engine. It's not in need of an overhaul now, but Larry has read those early SR22 cases are more robust, and he's wondering when the time comes if he should overhaul or do a factory reman. The hosts aren't aware of any particular issues that make cases from that generation better, but they do offer some sound advice on the reman versus overhaul question. Mike said that if the engine has been treating him well that Larry should overhaul it. And if it's been a lemon, send it off and get a new one from the factory. Larry is a little worried about resale, since people are skiddish with high-time engines. Mike suggests that an airplane with run-out engines is the best investment because it's been fully depreciated. Any additional time is essentially free. Terry has been looking for a 182 and he saw one in California with corrosion. He wonders how much corrosion is too much. Paul said that according to Terry's photos, he wouldn't think twice about buying the airplane. The general rule is that you can take off only 10 percent of a structure and not worry about it. The skin on top of the wing where the corrosion can be seen is only 25 thousandth of an inch, which means you could only take off 2.5 thousandth of an inch and still use that skin. White splotching can be seen in the photos, and Paul said it's common for airplanes of that vintage, and not to repair it. Instead, he recommends spraying it with ACF-50 or Corrosion-X every few years. Doing so will stop the spread and not allow any further damage.